Alcohol consumption & mortality

Newsweek -   Researchers examined alcohol consumption patterns and mortality outcomes among 340,924 participants in the UK Biobank, a health database that tracked adults between 2006 and 2022.

Participants completed dietary questionnaires detailing how often and how much alcohol they typically consumed alcoholic beverages. Consumption was measured in grams of pure alcohol per day and per week...'

Participants were grouped into four categories based on intake. Those who drank less than 20 grams per week—about one-and-a-half standard drinks—were classified as never- or occasional drinkers. Low consumption was defined as between 20 grams per week and 20 grams per day for men, and between 20 grams per week and 10 grams per day for women. Moderate consumption ranged from 20 to 40 grams per day for men and 10 to 20 grams per day for women. High consumption exceeded 40 grams per day for men and 20 grams per day for women.

The findings showed that high alcohol intake was clearly associated with higher mortality. Compared with never- or occasional drinkers, heavy drinkers were 24 percent more likely to die from any cause, 36 percent more likely to die from cancer and 14 percent more likely to die from heart disease.

However, differences emerged with low and moderate alcohol drinkers. At these levels, consuming spirits, beer or cider was linked to a significantly higher risk of death than drinking never or occasionally. Wine stood out as an exception, as low to moderate wine consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of death compared with abstaining or drinking occasionally.

Researchers also showed that moderate wine drinkers had a 21 percent lower risk of dying from heart-related causes than never- or occasional drinkers. In contrast, even low intake of spirits, beer or cider was associated with a 9 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death.